Magical Mystery Tour
by vespertine dreams
Summary: Merlin and Arthur accidentally fall through an anomaly and come face to face with the Primeval team. Then the anomaly closes and leaves them stranded. Slash- Merlin/Arthur, Connor/Becker. Reviews Welcome. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

Magical Mystery Tour

Chapter 1.

"What is that?" Prince Arthur demanded, glaring at Merlin.

Merlin turned and rolled his eyes. "What, you mean that weird sparkling thing in the air that I've never seen before? Hmm, let me think…"

That earned him another glare and a martyred sigh. "Why do I put up with you?"

Merlin grinned. "Because you love me so much?" he quipped.

Arthur shook his head but he was smiling back at him as he looked over at the oddity that they had come across in the forest. It had been a relatively uneventful hunting trip so far, with no prey caught due to Merlin's talent for scaring away any creature that happened to be nearby. The younger man was certainly not designed to be a hunter and he didn't seem to have even heard of the word 'stealth'.

In truth, he hadn't expected to catch anything this weekend, instead using the opportunity to spend time with Merlin away from the castle. It was good to be away from the gossips and constant attention they received there, where he had to keep up the pretence that Merlin was no more than his manservant. These hunting trips were the only chance he got to openly enjoy time with the man he had come to care about.

Crooking his finger to beckon Merlin closer, he snaked an arm around the younger man's waist and pulled him in for a kiss. Now _this_ was what he tolerated a weekend of no comfortable bed, no decent food and no bathing facilities for.

"Come on," he said after a moment, releasing Merlin reluctantly. "I wish to investigate this," he waved his arm in the direction of the glittering light that still hung in the air across the clearing, "whatever it is. I wonder how long it has been there? I have never heard mention of it before."

Merlin followed as Arthur approached the light cautiously, his sword in hand, ready to use it should the need arise.

"What the-?"

When he was a few feet away from the light, it felt as though the sword was being pulled from his hand by an invisible force and he had to cling on to it. Merlin felt the small dagger he had on his belt being tugged at also and stepped closer for a better view.

Arthur saw Merlin's foot catch the edge of the rabbit hole in the ground and he stumbled, instinctively grabbing Arthur's hand to stop himself falling.

---------

It had been a pretty quiet morning at the ARC, and Connor was bored. Abby and Sarah were working on something and kept telling him to be quiet or leave them alone so that they could concentrate and Becker was busy training with his soldiers. He had gone looking for Danny, in the hope that he had something interesting to do but Danny had vanished completely. When the anomaly detector alarm began to sound, Connor practically ran to the control room to see what was happening.

Three hours later, he was wishing he was back in the ARC, being bored. They had been driving non-stop since the alert and he was getting cramp in his leg. Shuffling in his seat brought him closer to Becker and he smiled. Maybe being stuck in a car for this long wasn't so bad after all…

Becker glanced over at him and smiled a smile that sent a shiver down Connor's spine, but whatever he was about to say was forgotten as Danny announced that they had arrived. Immediately, Becker was back to business, as was sergeant Andrews, the other soldier in the passenger seat.

Connor looked around as Danny pulled the car into the old industrial park. Most of the warehouses were empty now, the entire park waiting to be torn down for urban renewal according to the google search that Connor had done on the location before leaving the ARC.

"I don't get it," Danny said as they got out to search on foot. "Where's the anomaly?"

Connor checked the handheld detector, frowned, then smacked it against the palm of his hand. Still nothing. He sighed.

"It's gone."

Becker suddenly raised his gun. "We have visitors."

Connor and Danny both turned in the direction he pointed, and saw the two men. They were oblivious to their audience, in the middle of an argument. Judging by their clothing, however, they had to have come through the anomaly.

They both looked up as the second car, carrying Abby, Sarah and the other two soldiers, came further into the car park. The blonde drew a sword and took a defensive stance whilst the dark haired man looked slightly panicked. Putting himself between the cars and the blonde man, he muttered something that Connor didn't catch and his eyes flashed gold, just for a moment.

Luckily, everyone was out by the time the car burst into flames. A second later it exploded, sending Abby and Sarah diving for cover.

"OK, that's enough!" Becker yelled at the two men. "Put down your weapons and raise your hands." When they didn't move, he snapped the safety off his gun, the other soldiers moving to flank him. "Do it now or I _will_ shoot."

"Becker? I don't think they understand you."

The blonde man narrowed his eyes at Connor. "Of course I understand, you idiot. I just do not take orders from the likes of you."

"I think you'll find that you do now," Becker informed him. "I _said_, weapons down and raise your hands." Seeing the looks on their faces, he fired a shot into the tarmac about six feet to their left.

The dark haired man said something to his companion and they both raised their hands. The sword had been sheathed as opposed to put down but Becker figured that was the best they were going to get.

The team approached slowly, the soldiers' guns still trained on the men, whilst Abby called in to say that they would need new transport home. There was no way that they would all fit into the one remaining car and the smouldering remains of the other wouldn't be much use.

"You said you understood us," Connor said to the visitors. They both nodded. "I know you came through the anomaly, and that you're probably pretty freaked out by now but we aren't going to hurt you. OK?"

They glanced at each other and then the blonde glared at Connor again.

"Then tell me, why are you treating us as prisoners?"

"Maybe because you attacked us?"

Danny jabbed Connor in the ribs with his elbow and told him to stop provoking the two men, telling them that they could take their hands down, provided they made no attempt to go for their weapons.

Abby came to join them then, pushing her phone back into her pocket. "Lester's not happy," she said. "Who are they?"

Connor shrugged his shoulders and Abby readdressed her question to the two men. The blonde puffed out his chest, chin raised proudly.

"I am Arthur Pendragon, Crown Prince of Camelot," he announced. "This is Merlin." Merlin smiled self-consciously and offered a half-wave.

Well, Connor thought, at least that explained how the car had blown up. Magic. Wait until they tried explaining that to Lester.

-----------------------

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Magical Mystery Tour

Chapter 2.

Arthur stood in the office, on the second floor of the odd building that the skinny one, Connor, had called the ARC. He wasn't used to this, to people not respecting him, who he was. Well, except Merlin. Even when Merlin had been nothing more than his manservant, he had treated Arthur more like a friend than his Prince.

The insufferable man who stood before him now, however, was really beginning to get on his nerves. Lester, he had introduced himself as, Sir James Lester. Sir!

"Look, I don't care if you're the bloody Queen of Sheba," Lester snapped. "You are not leaving this building with a sword. You'll get arrested. Either it stays here or you can stay in a cell, here, with it."

Merlin turned to him. "Please, Arthur. They know this place better than we do, so maybe we should listen to them. We'll be fine; if no one here carries swords then you won't need it, right?"

Arthur stared at him in annoyance.

"No, because we'll have your skill for causing things to explode, won't we?" he pointed out. "Don't think I've forgotten about the fact you used sorcery." Seeing that Merlin was about to protest, he added, "don't even bother to deny it; I saw you."

Lester cleared his throat loudly. "If you two are quite finished with your lovers' tiff," he said acidly.

Arthur froze. How could he know that he and Merlin were lovers? Was it that obvious? Nothing more was said, however, as Lester merely began tapping his fingers impatiently on his desk, still waiting for the sword. Reluctantly, he handed it over, as Merlin did with his dagger, and Lester stowed them in a cupboard in the corner and locked it securely.

"So when do you intend to return us home?" he asked.

All around the office, the people fell silent, looking uneasy.

"It's not that simple," Connor told them. "You see, the thing you came through, the anomaly, well, we can't actually open them."

"What he's trying to say is that there is no guarantee that the anomaly back to your time will ever reopen," Abby said. "We can hope it reopens but that could be in an hour or a day or even a year."

"You mean to tell me that we are stuck in this place?" Arthur demanded. Lester nodded. "So what are we to do? Sit here and hope that the whatever-you-called-it opens again?"

This time Lester looked horrified. "Not here, no. I have enough to do without babysitting the pair of you."

"They could stay with me," Abby suggested. "It's just me there at the moment; I've got a spare room now since Connor spends all of his time over at Becker's place."

Merlin looked over at the little blonde woman in the strange clothing and then back to Arthur, who shook his head.

"That would not be possible," he said.

Abby frowned. "Why not?"

"What do you mean, why? How would it appear for you to have two men staying in your home?" Arthur asked. "It would not be proper."

Well, that counted Sarah's upcoming offer out as well. Everyone turned to Danny.

"No. I _don't_ have a spare room."

Connor nudged Becker with his elbow but the man stubbornly refused to meet his eyes, knowing what was coming next. He couldn't help it; despite the fact that Arthur's attitude was starting to piss him off, he still felt sorry for the pair. They were stuck in a strange place and they'd just been informed that they might not ever be able to get back home. That was bound to make anyone a bit cranky, right? Besides, his mind was whirring through the things he wanted to ask them- he really wanted to find out if this Merlin was the great magician that the myths told him to be. He had seen the young man's eyes flash gold just before the car blew up, or had he? It was one of the things on his mental list of questions.

He used the begging puppy-dog-eyes look that Becker usually gave in to, no matter what he was asking for, and the soldier sighed.

"That's playing dirty," he murmured, then louder, "They can stay at my place."

---------

Lester had given them the rest of the day off in order to take Merlin and Arthur home and get them settled. The two visitors followed him inside the flat, Arthur looking about him critically.

"I've only got the one spare bedroom so either you'll have to share or one of you can sleep on the sofa," Becker told them. Then, seeing the blank looks, he explained what a sofa was.

He gave them a quick tour of the flat before leaving Connor to explain some of the other mod-cons that hadn't been around in the time of castles. Such as everything in the bathroom- running water, electric lights, flushing toilets- everything.

"Do you live here as well?" Merlin asked, remembering what Abby had said back at the ARC.

Connor began to shake his head, then stopped, looking thoughtful. "Not exactly. Technically, I still live with Abby, but I spend more of my time here than I do there."

There were the confused looks again. He sighed; this was going to get annoying.

"Becker is my boyfriend, and so I tend to sleep here most nights," he said, and saw the confusion change to surprise. "Is that going to be a problem?"

Both men shook their heads and followed Connor back to the lounge, where he told them to sit whilst he found them all some dinner.

Becker was just going through his collection of take-out delivery menus when Connor came into the kitchen.

"What do you think? Chinese or Pizza?" he asked, then looked up from the menus. "How's it going?"

Connor sighed and hopped up to sit on the counter next to Becker. "Slow. At least Prince Arthur has stopped with the attitude."

Becker put the menus down and came to stand in front of Connor. Leaning in, he took Connor's mouth in a lingering kiss.

In the lounge, Merlin was still mulling over the events of the morning. If only they hadn't gone to investigate that light, the anomaly, then they wouldn't be trapped here, and he wouldn't be nervously waiting for a conversation he didn't want to ever have about why he had used sorcery in front of Arthur.

Arthur, fortunately, was too busy with other things to be lecturing him about his use of magic. He had paced to the door, wondering where Connor had gone to, and stopped dead.

"Arthur?"

When he didn't answer, he felt Merlin's presence as the younger man moved to stand at his shoulder.

"Oh."

The sound cause Becker to step back from Connor and look their way, as Merlin began to apologise.

"We didn't mean to interrupt or anything," he said hastily. "Sorry."

Connor hopped down off the counter. "Not a problem," he assured them. "Now, we were about to order some food; what do you like?"

---------

At six o'clock the next morning, both Connor and Becker's phones started ringing, adding to the din that the handheld anomaly detector that Connor had brought home with him was already making. As the pair hurriedly dressed and called into the ARC, Merlin appeared in the doorway to the spare room.

"What is that awful noise?"

Connor paused, glancing over at him. "We have to go to work; another anomaly just opened. Not the same one that brought you here, a different one," he added.

Immediately, Arthur was beside Merlin, looking awake and curious. "We will come with you."

Becker shook his head. "Not a good idea. Aside from the fact that Lester will have kittens if we bring you two along, you have no idea of what you'd be getting yourself into."

Arthur crossed his arms across his chest, a defiant look on his face, and Merlin sighed. This wasn't going to end well, he thought. Arthur was used to that look getting him his own way but he didn't expect it would have the same effect here. Not wanting to have to put up with Arthur in a foul mood for the rest of the day, he turned to Connor.

"Maybe we could simply observe," he suggested. "We will do what you tell us; we won't be any trouble, will we, Arthur?"

There was a grudging agreement from Arthur.

"Fine. But you exactly as you're told," Becker told them. He looked over their clothing. "And you can't go out dressed like that, you'll draw attention."

As Connor called Abby to let her know that they would meet the others at the anomaly site as opposed to the ARC, Becker headed towards his closet.

"You're about my size," he said to Arthur, "So I should have something that will fit. Connor is a bit skinnier than me so his stuff should fit Merlin."

"I heard that!" Connor griped as he came into the room. "I'm not skinny."

Becker laughed. "Sorry, love, but you are."

Arthur was looking at the pair of jeans and a t-shirt that Becker handed him with a look of incredulity on his face.

"You expect me to wear borrowed clothes?"

Becker smiled pleasantly. "If you want to come with us, I do. Now, either hurry up and get changed or stay here. One way or another, we have to leave in the next five minutes."

Fifteen minutes later, their car pulled up in the car park of the private sports club across town. The anomaly had opened on the golf course, leaving behind three rather frightened creatures that were currently hiding out in one of the sand bunkers. As the anomaly was still open, there was a good chance more of them would come wandering through.

Connor got out and began unloading boxes from the back of the car Abby had driven from the ARC, getting out the things he needed to close the anomaly. Arthur appeared beside him, looking on curiously. When Connor almost walked into him for the third time, he stopped.

"Look, if you're going to stand there, do you think you could help?" He held out a case. "Carry this, would you?"

For a moment, it looked as though Arthur was going to complain or refuse but then he took it and followed Connor out to the anomaly. He stared; even though he had seen one of these before, the one they had come through, it was still fascinating.

"What are you doing?" he asked, seeing Connor begin to set up his equipment.

"I'm going to close it so that nothing else can come wandering through," Connor said. "The others are going to try and catch the creatures and send them back to where they came from."

Merlin watched as Abby and Danny circled around to the back of the bunker, three of the black-clad men he now understood to be soldiers following, those strange weapons raised.

"Why don't you go over there to Connor and Arthur," Becker suggested.

Merlin nodded and wandered off, Sergeant Andrews going along at Becker's request to keep their guests out of trouble.

"What are those things?" he asked when he reached Connor.

Looking back, he could see the others chasing some lizard-like creatures across the grass. They were about the size of a large dog, with a row of little spines down the bridge of their stubby noses. One of them, tired of being chased, turned around and snapped its sharp teeth at Danny, making him jump back quickly.

"Not sure," Connor replied distractedly, tapping keys on the laptop. Suddenly the anomaly before them shrank in size to form a perfect sphere. No sooner had he got it closed than Danny yelled at him to open it again.

"Incoming!"

Connor reopened the anomaly and pushed Arthur and Merlin out of the way as one of the creatures veered off from the others and came bounding in their direction. It growled and snarled at them as Andrews took a couple of shots at it, tearing up the grass around its feet.

"Shoot the damn thing," Connor told him.

Andrews had barely had the chance to take the tranquiliser gun from its holster before there was a flash of red light that formed a semi-translucent shield around them. The creature bounced off it with a crackle of sparks, shaking its head and looking stunned. Arthur, Andrews and Connor turned to Merlin as one. The young man stood with one arm outstretched, palm held out flat, vertically.

The creature growled again and took another run at the shield.

"Are you doing this?" Andrews asked Merlin.

"Yes."

Andrews didn't get angry as Merlin had expected, instead he took the tranq gun out and checked that it was loaded correctly.

"Great. When I say so, stop doing it and get out of the way." He moved into position. "Now!"

Merlin dropped the shield and ducked to the side as Andrews fired two darts into the creature. It staggered for about five seconds and then fell over.

"Pretty impressive," he told Merlin.

Merlin beamed happily, the smile faltering a little when he caught Arthur's eye. Damn it. That was the second time he'd used his magic in front of Arthur; both times he hadn't intended to, but he had seen a danger to Arthur and had acted on instinct.

It took them another ten minutes to herd the two creatures into the anomaly, and then carry the unconscious one through as well, but eventually the danger was gone. The anomaly had closed on its own mere moments after the last creature was sent through.

"Where are we going now?" Arthur asked as they got back into the cars.

"Back to the ARC," Connor told him. "Some of us actually have to work for a living."

Merlin's snigger from the back seat was quickly disguised as a cough as Arthur glared. If he was being perfectly honest, he wasn't as annoyed as he pretended to be. Despite everything that had happened, he felt so free at present, away from the responsibilities of being the Prince. He had Merlin with him- he would figure out what to do about the fact that Merlin kept using sorcery later. When he had seen Connor and Becker together, it had made him realise that this was also an opportunity. Here, the usual gender and class boundaries didn't seem to apply; he could spend time with Merlin without risk or scandal.

All in all, if he was to be stranded here then he intended to enjoy it.

-----------------------

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Magical Mystery Tour

Chapter 3.

They were back in Lester's office again. The civil servant sat behind his desk, fingers laced in his lap, leaning back in his chair.

"Would someone mind explaining to me why you took those two," he indicated to Merlin and Arthur, "out in the field with you?"

Connor fidgeted, avoiding looking at Lester, and Becker sighed. It looked like it was down to him to deal with their boss.

"With all due respect, sir, if not for Merlin's assistance, Connor would very likely have been injured by the creature," he said.

"It's true; he held the creature off long enough for me to get a clear shot," Sergeant Andrews added.

Lester eyed Merlin again, and Connor was reminded of a kid studying an interesting new bug under a microscope. It appeared that Arthur had noticed a well as the prince's glare settled on Lester.

"Look, they're going to be here for a while, they can't just sit at home and do nothing," Connor pointed out. "Why not let them help?"

"Oh, fine. You'll do what you want no matter what I say anyway, won't you?" He sighed. "That was a rhetorical question, Connor."

Becker ushered the others out of Lester's office before their boss changed his mind. Merlin looked unsure about the whole thing but Arthur had the same expression that Connor got whenever they encountered a new kind of dinosaur. Well, after he was done with the running away part. He had that sparkle of anticipation that said he was eager to get started.

"Connor, I'll see you later, OK?" Becker said as Andrews signalled him. "I've got training all afternoon."

In lieu of a proper goodbye, since it wouldn't be appropriate in the ARC, he gave Connor's hand a squeeze before hurrying away to catch up with his second in command. Connor watched him go and then turned to the two men, watching him silently.

"Come on," he said. "If you're going to be helping, I'd better show you what we really do around here."

Arthur and Merlin followed along as Connor took them around the labs and workstations, looking about them with interest. Much of it, however, made little sense to them. So much of what they did required at least a basic understanding of technology in order explain the details. When they reached the capture pens, however, Merlin's curiosity piqued. Connor saw his eyes widen and the smile on his face as he looked across to the mammoth in his pen.

"What is that?" Arthur asked, following Merlin's gaze and coming to a stop.

"That's Manny," Connor informed them, going over to the bars. "He's a mammoth. He came through an anomaly ages ago and ended up on a motorway. Poor thing was stuck here when the anomaly closed again." He glanced back at the two men. "You can come closer; he doesn't bite."

Arthur took the lead, as though proving to them all that he wasn't afraid, and stepped up to the pen. Almost immediately, a long hairy trunk came out through the bars and snuffled the top of his head, making him duck and scurry out of the way.

Hearing Merlin chuckling, he turned and scowled, smoothing his hair and trying to regain his dignity.

"Oh, shut up," he snapped.

Merlin caught Connor's eye and laughed even harder, especially when Manny's trunk emerged again to investigate Connor. Connor stroked the trunk and took an apple from the bucket he had collected on his way past the keepers' station.

"Here," he said to Merlin. "You want to feed him?"

Merlin made a big show of feeding the mammoth, all the while smirking at Arthur.

"Why is he called Manny?" Arthur asked, coming closer and pausing only to pinch the top of Merlin's arm in retribution for his teasing.

Connor handed him an apple to give to the mammoth. "Manny is the name of a cartoon mammoth in a film called Ice Age. Jessica, one of the keepers, named him after the character."

They moved on, leaving Manny to the rest of his lunch, to look around the rest of the creatures.

"You'll like this one," Connor told them, stopping at another pen. This one had high walls with glass panels at eye height to see through. "This is a Dracorex."

Merlin looked through. "That's a dragon," he said. When he saw Connor begin to correct him, he shook his head. "Trust me, I know what a dragon looks like."

Arthur looked at him curiously. "How would you know what a dragon looks like?"

Merlin froze, realising his mistake. Arthur had no idea about the dragon currently residing under the castle at Camelot, and he certainly had no clue that Merlin had been going to speak to it for years.

"I, uh, saw a picture," he said and then looked to Connor. "So, what's next?"

Connor took the hint and moved them on but he was dying to ask. Unfortunately, Arthur got in first.

"Merlin, the truth," he said. "First your use of sorcery and then you speak of dragons as though you have seen one."

Merlin sighed resignedly. "Can we talk about this later?" he said. "I promise I'll tell you everything, just not here. Please?"

Reluctantly, Arthur agreed and they followed Connor out of the animals' area. Neither man seemed in any mood for continuing the tour now and so Connor led them up to the soldiers' training area.

"What are we doing here?" Arthur asked, looking around to where the Dev and Becker were sparring in the practice ring.

"I thought you might be interested in their training, since you're a knight back home," Connor told him. He grinned and waved to a couple of the soldiers he knew, taking their good-natured jokes and firing off a few retorts, before admitting, "Besides, I just like to come and watch Becker get all hot and sweaty."

The two men looked slightly shocked that he had said that for anyone to hear, glancing at the soldiers to see their reactions, before Merlin laughed.

"May I ask you something?" Arthur began, sounding uneasy. "Is it really considered acceptable for you to flaunt your closeness with Captain Becker? It seems that everyone here is aware of the fact."

Connor shrugged his shoulders and made himself comfortable on the low bench at the side of the room.

"Yes. Well, kind of. I mean there are still people who don't like it but no one here has ever said anything bad." He looked between the pair of them. "My turn to ask a question; are you two together? Are you lovers?" he clarified, seeing Merlin's questioning look.

The young man's cheeks flushed pink but he said nothing, instead looking to Arthur.

"It isn't common knowledge at home," Arthur told him after a moment's silence. "Our time is not as accepting as yours seems to be."

"I knew it!"

Connor looked back to the practice ring in time to see Becker knock Dev to the mat and pin him. He whistled loudly and cheered, causing Becker to look up and grin at him.

"Look, if you don't want the others to know, that's fine," he said to Merlin and Arthur, "but there's no need to hide whilst you're here. Not at the ARC or at Becker's place."

Merlin nodded, and he could see Arthur thinking it over as well.

"This reminds me of Camelot," Arthur mused. "I trained with my men every day."

He watched as the soldiers dispersed and headed for the showers as their session finished, Becker coming over to join them instead. He wiped the sweat from his face with the towel around his neck and then sat down next to Connor.

"Don't you have work to do?" he teased.

Connor shook his head. "What, when I could be here watching you?" he asked. "Anyway, were just finishing our tour, and thought we'd drop by."

Becker laughed. "Whatever you say."

"No, seriously. I thought that Arthur might be interested."

Becker studied the blonde man for a moment. "If you ever feel like joining us for a practice session, you would be more than welcome."

Arthur nodded, looking pleased. "I may just do that."

"Well," Becker said to Connor, "I should go get cleaned up. I'll be out soon; meet you in your office?"

He stood and, after checking to see that none of the others were around, pressed a quick kiss to Connor's lips before heading toward the locker room.

----------

Merlin watched the screen with interest. His initial amazement of television had dimmed somewhat but he still found it fascinating. The film that Connor had been talking about earlier, Ice Age, played, a bowl of popcorn on the table in front of them. Connor was practically curled up in Becker's lap and as the movie finished, he and Becker announced that they were going to bed.

"Remember to turn off the light when you go to bed," Connor reminded them. "And turn the TV off- it's this little red button here. OK?"

Arthur nodded, waiting only a few minutes more before switching everything off. In a move that surprised Merlin, he took the younger man's hand and went toward their room. Merlin began to unroll the makeshift bed he had slept in the previous night on the floor beside the bed, just in case anyone had seen them, but Arthur stopped him.

"You're sleeping with me tonight."

Merlin watched his expression for a moment, to make sure that he was serious, before smiling widely.

"I have been thinking about Connor's words," Arthur said. "If we are to be here for a while, then I see no reason why we should not use it to our advantage. There is no need to hide, not from my father, or my knights or the people; here I am not the Prince and you are not my manservant."

He curled his fingers into the front of Merlin's shirt and pulled him close, claiming his mouth in a heated kiss. Merlin returned the kiss, lips parting as Arthur pushed to allow him entry. Hands tugged his shirt from his jeans, pulling it over his head and tossing it aside before Arthur divest them both of the rest of their clothes. Unwilling to let him go even for a moment, Merlin tumbled them both to the bed, mouths still fused, his arms wrapped securely around Arthur.

Three hours later, Arthur lay awake, Merlin contentedly cuddled up in his arms. He still couldn't get his mind to stop, to let him get some sleep.

"What's the matter?"

Arthur sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."

"I don't mind," Merlin assured him, shifting position so that he lay level with the other man, face to face. "Now, what's bothering you?"

"When were you going to tell me about the sorcery?"

Here it was, Merlin thought. The conversation. There wasn't a lot of point in pretending or pleading innocence and so he told the truth.

"Never. I was hoping that you wouldn't find out." Arthur looked offended, and just a little bit angry, as Merlin continued. "I knew that if you found out I had magic then you would have to tell the King. I was trying to protect you, honestly, the very same thing I use my magic to do."

"I don't understand- Wait, you mean you've been using magic all of this time?"

Merlin nodded. "Think about it, Arthur. Think about all of the weird things that have threatened you- creatures, ghosts, trolls. How did you think they were all defeated?"

"I thought… Oh, I don't know." He sighed. "That was you?"

"Yes. Look, please don't be angry; I was only trying to keep you safe."

Arthur stared at him as though he'd never seen him before. Then again, he hadn't, not really. The Merlin that he knew was an accident-prone, walking-disaster of a manservant. That was the Merlin he had grown to care about, and now his view of the young man had been turned completely upside down.

"Arthur, say something. Please?"

Any anger Arthur might have had left him when he saw the utter dread in the other man's eyes. Merlin truly expected him to be furious, to hate him for the secret he had kept all this time. When he reached out, his hand connecting with Merlin's arm, he felt that the young man was shaking. He felt awful knowing that he was the cause of that fear.

"I wish you had trusted me enough to tell me the truth," he said, "But I can understand why you didn't." Merlin's eyes widened in surprise as Arthur closed the space between them and brushed a kiss over his lips. "You really used magic to protect me? Idiot; you could have been caught."

"Only you would call me an idiot for saving your life," Merlin grumbled, though he was smiling as he said it, knowing that everything would be alright.

Arthur's arm went around his waist, pulling him against his body, and he tugged the bedcovers over them.

"Well, who do you think would have had to bail you out when you got arrested?"

"You would have done that for me?"

"Of course I would," Arthur told him.

"Really?"

Arthur sighed. "Merlin, do shut up and go to sleep."

"Yes, Arthur."

* * *

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Magical Mystery Tour

Chapter 4.

Arthur was roused from his sleep to the feeling of someone stroking his hair. _Merlin_. He smiled, eyes still closed as he cuddled closer to the warm body that lay pressed against his front… Wait a moment. If Merlin was still asleep then who the hell had just touched the _back_ of his head? And who the hell was moving?; he could feel someone's weight shift on top of the bed. Arthur's eyes snapped open and he turned to peer over the top of the bedcovers to find a small, stubby-nosed creature about the size of a small dog snuffling about. The little creature cocked its head to one side and blinked its huge black eyes, letting out a curious squeaking sound.

Tossing the covers back, Arthur sat up sharply, dislodging the creature. It let out a disgruntled yelp as it landed on the floor, scrambling to the door as Arthur threw his pillow at it.

"What _are_ you doing?"

Arthur sighed as Merlin reached up to drag the covers back over him again, trying to get comfortable again. It didn't last long, as Arthur tugged his pillow out from under his head to throw at the creature when it stopped and turned back into the room. Suddenly the door was pushed open and Connor came in. There was another of the creatures at his feet and he stooped to pick up the first one. Connor looked at the pillows and the miserable look on the little creature's face and glared at Arthur.

"Do that again and you'll be sleeping in the street," he warned. He turned to the creature. "Poor baby," he cooed, "Was that nasty man mean to you?"

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Ten minutes later, Arthur and Merlin were dressed and sitting at the kitchen counter with a bowl of cereal and a mug of tea. Connor was playing with the creatures in the lounge, pointedly ignoring Arthur.

"What are those things?" Arthur asked Becker.

"Those 'things', as you so tactfully put it, are Connor's pets. The one in his lap is Nancy, the other one is Sid." Becker looked through the open door to watch Connor. "They're harmless, if a little messy at times. They've been living at Abby's, but she brought them around this morning. I'd be careful at the moment; Connor is still pissed at you for throwing things at Sid."

Once he had finished his breakfast, Arthur reluctantly went into the lounge, to where Connor sat. The young man glanced up as he approached but didn't say anything. Arthur sighed; he really hated apologising. Back home, he rarely had to, and of the times he should, he rarely did. Merlin, however, had been trying to break him of that habit, his influence bringing out a new side to Arthur. And, he really didn't like Connor being angry with him. He was beginning to think of Connor and Becker as friends.

"Connor?" he sat down, cross-legged, on the floor next to Connor. Almost immediately, Sid and Nancy pounced on him. As he tried to fend off the over-excited creatures, Connor just sat back with an amused look on his face. Eventually, they managed to knock Arthur off balance so that he fell backwards.

Connor laughed, but he did grab hold of Nancy and pull her away. Once he moved her, Sid also gave up in order to see where his playmate had gone and Arthur sat upright again.

"You deserved that," Connor told him.

Arthur watched the creature wriggling in Connor's arms, trying to get free of his grasp, and nodded.

"I guess I did. Look, I'm sorry about throwing pillows at it- him- but he startled me," Arthur began, hesitantly reaching out to pet Sid. "What are they, anyway?"

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Merlin followed Connor into the ARC a little later that morning. He was curious about what Connor did, wanting to find out more, and so Connor had offered to try and show him how to use the computer system. Meanwhile, Becker had taken Arthur along to his soldiers' training session.

"Guys, Arthur is joining us this morning," Becker announced. "So play nice, OK?"

Dev looked offended. "We're always nice," he protested.

At that, Becker laughed. He bet it would be about ten minutes before they started teasing Arthur, another five at least after that before the really personal questions started. They were always the same; at least fifty percent of their sparring sessions were in verbally baiting each other, trying to throw their opponent off-guard with words before fists or feet. However, Arthur was not to be deterred. He was skilled in hand to hand combat, though not with the martial arts moves that the soldiers used, and he quickly figured out their strategy.

He was facing Mark Andrews, Becker's second in command, in the ring, keeping well clear of the kicks and punches with ease. Andrews smirked.

"So, your highness, how does it feel to be getting beaten by a commoner?"

Arthur aimed a punch at Andrews but the other man ducked, dancing away on the balls of his feet, hands raised in defence as they continued to circle each other.

"Merlin."

Arthur frowned. "What about him?"

"'You two shagging?" His question didn't quite have the desired effect, however.

"At it like bunnies every night," Arthur replied, poker-faced, and took advantage of the other man's surprise to sweep Andrews' feet out from under him with a kick. As Andrews fell, swearing up a storm, the others laughed.

"That'll teach him," Becker said, congratulating Arthur. "Nice work. I guess this is the kind of thing you're used to back home?"

Arthur nodded. "Partly. It does feel good to be back in the sparring ring again; I've missed it." He glanced back at Andrews, still getting teased over his loss by the others. "What were those kicks he was doing?"

"We use a mixture of karate, kick-boxing, street-fighting," Becker explained.

"Could you teach me?"

Becker called Dev into the ring, proceeding to demonstrate a few of the moves that Andrews had been using. Arthur watched with interest before stepping forward to try for himself. His movements weren't as flowing as the others, but then some of them had been training in these disciplines for years.

"Not bad," Andrews told him grudgingly from the sidelines. He smiled and offered a hand for Arthur to shake. "You've got some pretty good moves."

"Thanks."

Arthur shook his hand, returning the smile. The grudging praise and the teasing were the soldier's version of an open-armed welcome; it was the same with his knights back home.

The sound of the anomaly detector alarm broke up the training session and Arthur followed the soldiers out, where Becker tossed him the standard tac vest and body armour that they wore.

"You're letting me come with you?"

Becker rolled his eyes. "No, I just thought you'd like to wear this gear for the fun of it," he retorted. "You are _not_ getting a gun, though. Lester would skin me alive if I did that."

Arthur strapped on the gear and followed him out to the cars, where Merlin was already waiting with Connor and Danny.

When he saw Arthur in the soldiers' uniform of black combats, Merlin whispered to Connor, "I'm starting to see why you like Becker in that gear."

Connor laughed as he got into the car.

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Three hours later, they had herded the last of the stray Hypsilophodon's had been rounded up and chased back through the anomaly. The dinosaurs- six foot tall, bad tempered, bipedal creatures- had given them a run for their money, moving fast on their powerful back legs. In the end, tired of chasing them on foot, they had rounded them up with the cars, trying to get them back through the anomaly before it closed. At one point, it had begun to fluctuate but then it had suddenly steadied again, holding in the air as the last creature ran through.

"What happened?" Connor asked no one in particular. "I thought it was going to close but then it was fine again."

Merlin waved a hand nervously in the air. "I think that was me," he said quietly.

Everyone turned to stare at him.

"What do you mean?" Danny asked him.

"I could feel it, the anomaly," Merlin told them. "When it started to close, it was just like holding a door open. I just knew it would work, so I did it."

Connor smiled, thinking. "You reckon you could do that again?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Because I think we might have found you a way to get home."

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It took them almost a week and a lot of practice runs at previous anomaly sites before Merlin finally figured out how he had managed to hold open the anomaly. On the sixth day, he successfully reopened one of the closed anomalies. That next morning, they drove back to the place where Merlin and Arthur had first come through. It seemed like an age since the ARC team had arrived, expecting to see rampaging dinosaurs and finding the two men instead, yet it had been mere weeks.

"I can't believe it," Connor told him. "We have been looking for a way to control these things for ages, and it's magic that works. The one thing that we _can't_ reproduce."

He knew that this would also mean that Merlin and Arthur would be leaving, and he was going to miss them. Despite their disagreements, he liked having the pair of them around. Arthur had even made friends with Sid and Nancy, the two Diictadons coming to greet him before Connor some days when they came home. Then there were all of the things that Connor still wanted to ask them.

"If I can reopen the anomaly," Merlin began, "then that means that I can also open the one in Camelot, right?" Connor nodded. "So, that would mean that if I wanted to come back and visit, I could, doesn't it?"

"We," Arthur corrected. "We could come and visit."

Connor looked between them, unable to keep the grin off his face. "Definitely. That'd be brilliant."

The others stood back as Merlin concentrated, searching for the invisible trace that the anomalies left behind. He had described it to Connor as the air feeling slightly thicker around where the anomaly had been. When he allowed his magic to run freely with that feeling, he could will the remnants of the anomaly to reform and reopen.

There was a faint gleam in the air a split second before the anomaly came shimmering into existence again. Merlin turned back to the people watching him, a wide beaming smile on his face.

"It worked!"

Arthur came forward and slipped his arm around Merlin's waist, hugging him to him. "Of course it did."

Merlin's smile slipped as he looked over at Connor, Becker and the others, waiting nearby.

"I don't want to go," he said to Arthur. "I like it here."

"I know but, as you said, we can come back and visit," Arthur reminded him. "Come on, let's say goodbye."

Leaning against the car, Connor watched sadly as they stepped into the anomaly and vanished a few minutes later. He felt Becker's arms around him and pressed in closer.

"I'm going to miss them," he said.

"Me too."

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Merlin looked around the forest, at the familiar clearing where they had first come across the anomaly. They were back. After closing the anomaly and, as an afterthought, carefully marking it's location for the next time they needed to find it, the two men set off back towards the castle.

Arthur reached out and took Merlin's hand, offering a reassuring smile.

They were about five minutes away from the outskirts of Camelot when they ran into the patrol. The man at the head of the group noticed them first, calling for them to halt. Arthur continued toward them slowly, and when Merlin tried to pull his hand away, Arthur tightened his hold. Things were going to be different now; he couldn't go back to the way things had been before, unable to even show affection to Merlin outside of a locked room. No, he had seen how it could be and he liked it.

"Identify yourselves!"

"My name is Arthur Pendragon, Prince of Camelot."

The man lowered his sword and dropped to one knee in respect, as the others did. "My sincerest apologies, Prince Arthur."

Arthur told them to get up and the man spoke again.

"We have been looking for you, Sire. The King has every able man in Camelot joining the search after you did not return- we were all most worried. I would ask that you allow us to escort you back to the castle; the King will be anxious to see that you are well." He glanced at them, at Arthur and Merlin's clasped hands, to the jeans, t-shirts and jackets they both wore. "If I may be so bold, Sire, may I ask where you have been?"

Arthur let out a laugh. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."

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The end.


End file.
